Conventional media for communication of data include wireless communication systems (e.g., WiFi), vacuum or fiber optic cable systems, hard-wired (cable) communication systems, and the like. The abundance of communication devices operating in and thereby saturating the radiofrequency (RF) domain demonstrates a need for new communication media. Advantageously, free space optical (FSO) communication provides a communication medium offering secure, line-of-sight (LoS), high-bandwidth data transmission to send information from one location to another using light.
More specifically, FSO communication propagates electromagnetic (EM) radiation through the air wherever light can travel, but only where light can travel. Advantageously, optical wireless communication systems operate in the visible to near infra-red (NIR) portion of the light spectrum, which offers 104 times more bandwidth compared to the RF region of most wireless communication systems.
Until recently, the fusion of FSO technology with textiles, e.g., wearable garments, has been negligible. However, because the average human body provides 1.5 to 2 square meters of surface area, which is fertile space for receiving FSO signals, especially in the context of LoS communications, opportunities for such fusion exist.